Davis played basketball for La Crosse Central High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He helped the school win a Division 2 state title as a freshman.[1] In his junior season, Davis averaged 23 points and 9 rebounds per game, earning La Crosse Tribune Player of the Year honors.[2] As a senior, he averaged 27.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.[3] He was named Wisconsin Mr. Basketball and repeated as La Crosse Tribune Player of the Year.[4] Davis left as his school's all-time leading scorer with 2,158 career points.[5] He committed to playing college basketball for Wisconsin over offers from Marquette, Iowa and Minnesota, among others.[6]
Davis also played football for La Crosse Central as a quarterback.[7] In his senior season, he earned Large Schools First Team All-State honors and won the Dave Krieg Award as the most outstanding senior quarterback in Wisconsin.[8]
College career
On February 2, 2021, Davis scored a freshman season-high 17 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field, in a 72–56 win over Penn State.[9] As a freshman, he came off the bench, averaging seven points and 4.1 rebounds per game while leading his team with 34 steals.[10] On November 23, 2021, Davis scored 30 points in a 65–63 upset of Houston.[11] He scored a career-high 37 points and had 14 rebounds on January 3, 2022, in a 74–69 upset of Purdue.[12] As a sophomore, he averaged 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Davis was named Big Ten Player of the Year.[13] On March 31, 2022, Davis declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[14]
Davis' father, Mark, played professional basketball for 13 seasons, including stints in the NBA, following a college career at Old Dominion. His twin brother, Jordan, who was his basketball and football teammate in high school, originally played college basketball for Wisconsin[19] before transferring to Illinois State.[20] Prior to the draft, Davis appeared in a Taco Bell commercial promoting the chain's Toasted Cheddar Chalupa.[21]
